Cleaning dutsy mixing boards .. ?

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studiodrum

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Cleaning Dusty mixing boards .. ?

I can use some help from my analog brothas, . . .I was wondering what the best method for cleaning an older early 80's type mixing board , . . ???

I was planning on using one of those mini computer vacuum cleaners for the XLR, phono plugs, and hard to reach crevices. . then follow that with some DeoxIT Power Booster to clean any buildup in the plugs, and any scratchy pots . . .then lube and clean the faders with some CaiLube MCL.

But, I'm wondering what should I clean the actual surface of the board in between the pots and faders . . .should it be cleaned with lint-free cloth and some electronic cleaner spray, . or should I use some kind of lint-free moistened wipes made for electronics, . .

I'm curious what the bets way is to go about this, . .what what others have dome to clean up their dusty mixing boards. Thanks fellas, . . !
 
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Depending on the degree of the goo on the mixer's outer surfaces, I would start with the most mild options first, thinks like a soft wash cloth damped in warm water mixed with a bit of dish detergent and moving up from there in terms of chemical fortitude.

WD-40 can remove a lot of stuck on crap like stickers and tape if you do it in several sessions being careful to not scrub so hard that you damage the lettering or paint finish.

There's also a product called Goo-Gone which is also designed for cleaning up stuck on gunk and it too should be used with caution.

Removable knobs can be soaked in soapy hot water and scrubbed clean with an old tooth brush with good success.

Cheers! :)
 
As for general 'cosmetic' cleaning ask THIS MAN ... :D
seriously, I've cleaned ton of all sorts of dusty dirty units and gear and the ol'windex does most cleaning work just fine. Normally I'd take all (what's possible) knobs etc off and clean then one piece at the time, sometime using brush, q-tips what have you, then clean the surface/front panel of the unit, just don't spray all over... dry-clean/vacuum what you can first, then spray/soak on the piece of cloth, q-tips etc...and work on it ... take time and have fun :)
of course, to do a REAL passionate cleaning job you'd take the unit apart and clean each part separately in and out ... I call it "restoration" :)
 
On mixers I've gotten that were dirty,...

I've always preferred to remove all the knobs and caps off switches & buttons when possible, then to clean the surface of the mixer with a damp cloth and a little Formula 409,... sprayed directly on the cloth and in sparing amounts,... then swab away!!

The more knobs, caps and buttons you can remove, the better, but don't force anything that doesn't come of with a gentle-to-moderate pull!! Once the majority of knobs, caps & buttons are removed, it's easier to clean the top deck more thoroughly.

Try doing that to an M520, with well over a hundred knobs!!;) :eek:

... Ah, yes,... not to mention cleaning every knob, cap, switch and button thoroughly by hand before reinstalling onto the board. On my M520, this operation took days!! :eek:
 
And I complained about doing that to a m30 :rolleyes: But isnt that part of the fun Dave?
Just wanted to add one warning here (And I learned the hard way) Watch out for these orange based cleaners. They can tear some shit up. Dont use them unless you are sure it wont hurt anything your working on.
 
SWIFTER DUSTERS!!!! Love it!!
Great idea., . . . almost as good as Lint-free / anti-static electronic cloths. .But a whole lot cheaper, and much easier to obtain. .
Thanks Jeff
 
the first mixer I got, I got off ebay, and it came from a heavey smoker. It was disgusting. I actaully unsrewed all the faceplated everywhere and disinfected them, wiped them, and ran them under hot water. That's the easiest way to do it. And for small places you can't take off, I used q tips. It took foreeeeeeever.
 
I take off all the knobs and wash them in the sink with dishwashing soap and use Formula 409 and cloth on the board itself as well.

For items from a smoky environment:

Open the device -- take off the bottom and side panels, whatever. Then put it in front of a box-fan and spray regular Lysol into the air stream so it is bathed in a fine mist. Leave the fan on it and spray 3-4 times over an hour or so.

I can't remember where I first heard about this technique, but I tried it on a couple ebay items that made my studio smell like a tavern. It worked great.
 
The Ghost of FM said:
Removable knobs can be soaked in soapy hot water and scrubbed clean with an old tooth brush with good success.
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The local community radio station in Invercargill cleaned all the knobs on their Allen & Heath GB3 broadcast console with warm water and dishwashing detergent a few years ago - now all the coloured caps move completely independently of the controls :eek:

Be careful!
 
Uh oh... that's not good.

I should clarify that I've used the dish soap method with Tascam products. The color caps snap in place and can't move around. They can fall off though, so I used a pasta strainer to keep everything together just in case.

Sounds like somebody needs some glue down there, Andrew. :)

That soft plastic is a little tricky though for conventional plastic model glue, so maybe some epoxy... what a mess.
 
arjoll said:
The local community radio station in Invercargill cleaned all the knobs on their Allen & Heath GB3 broadcast console with warm water and dishwashing detergent a few years ago - now all the coloured caps move completely independently of the controls :eek:

Be careful!
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I should have clarified my point because I too only have ever owned mixers from TASCAM and have never had a problem with that method.

Sorry! :o

Cheers! :)
 
Okay, . .So, I went out to OfficeDepot yesterday, and got myself a cute little mini-vacuum cleaner, designed to lift the dust from the crevices of computer casings, and keyboards. . .I thought it would be a great tool for cleaning the surface of my dusty mixer, getting inside all those hard to reach areas. . However, its an electric mini vacuum. .NOT Battery powered.

So, now I'm thinkin' (can ya smell it?) Will the electric powered mini vacuum produce too much static electricity to mess up the electronics inside of a mixing board, or recorder????, . . .compared to say a battery powered vacuum. . .

Granted the battery powered mini-vacuums do not suck as well as the mini-electric ones. .But, will I be safer with a battery powered one . . .?

I wasn't planning on using it inside the mixer, just on the surface. . .what are your thoughts. . .
 
I don't foresee a problem with using an AC powered vacuum cleaner around a mixer but just keep it away from any tapes or heads because of the magnetic field that may or may not emanate from the motor. The mixer itself shouldn't be adversely affected by it.

Cheers! :)
 
Thanks Jeff, . .
Initially, I didn't think there should be a problem with using the electric computer-vac either, http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=402741&&An=text

. . .as long as I only used it on the surface. But, the dusty mixer in question, is attached to a cassette tape recorder the Akai MG1212 (sorry, I should have mentioned that initially). . . and I'm wondering by using the electric vacuum on the surface area, . .will the motors magnetic field start messin with the tape heads. . . or am I just bein' too fricken paranoid. ;)
 

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Considering the unit in question, I would 86 the vacuum all together then.

Take the unit outside with the bottom cover off and blow it out with compressed air from a can or from a compressor if you have one.

Cheers! :)
 
I'd definately lean towards using a compressor to blow rather than a vacuum cleaner to suck - we have a compressor at work that the techs use to blow dust out of old PCs, far fewer potential issues than a vacuum cleaner.
 
Beck said:
Sounds like somebody needs some glue down there, Andrew.
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Even better, a large perspex moulding over the whole lot so that untrained community radio types can't keep tweaking the controls that should never, ever be on a broadcast console - EQ, pan, that kind of thing!

The colour inserts still snap on to the top of the knob, so they don't go missing, just rotate when they shouldn't!

Was always a great way to hassle the next announcer though, just pick one of the CD players, put the pan all the way left or right, rotate the pointer so it was back at the centre.....you can guess the rest. Fault log books can make interesting reading ;)
 
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